Africa Targets $5 Billion Project Pipeline as Green Economy Summit Returns for Fourth Edition

Staff Writer
Jan 1, 2026
3 min read

Cape Town, South Africa — As the world accelerates climate finance commitments ahead of several crucial global milestones, momentum is shifting toward solutions that can turn ambition into action. Recent outcomes from international climate negotiations — including discussions leading up to and following COP30 in Belém, Brazil — have sharpened the focus on investment-ready pathways for emerging markets.

Against this backdrop, the fourth edition of Africa’s Green Economy Summit (AGES) will take place from 24–27 February 2026 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town, bringing together leaders who are defining how Africa can scale climate-positive growth. Powered by lead partner Sanlam Investments, this year’s Summit arrives at a moment when the continent is mobilising fast-growing investor interest, strengthened policy signals, and an expanding pipeline of green and blue economy opportunities.

AGES 2026 underscores a shared commitment to accelerating investment into Africa’s climate-resilient, low-carbon transition at a time when global attention is firmly on financing, nature protection and technological solutions that can deliver measurable impact.

Organised by the VUKA Group under the theme “From Ambition to Action: Scaling Investment in Africa’s Green and Blue Solutions,” AGES 2026 will convene institutional investors, development finance institutions, innovators, governments and sustainability leaders’ intent on unlocking climate-aligned capital for Africa’s most pressing development priorities. With 580+ delegates, over 150 investors, and more than 200 project developers expected, the Summit reflects an expanding pipeline of opportunities estimated at USD 5 billion across renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, digital climate intelligence, adaptation technologies and climate-finance platforms.

“Africa stands at the frontier of both climate risk and innovation,” says Emmanuelle Nicholls, Portfolio Director for the Green Economy at VUKA Group.

“AGES exists to bridge that gap by connecting scalable, investment-ready projects with partners who can finance measurable impact.”

The AGES 2026 agenda mirrors the global focus on scaling climate and nature finance, advancing system-wide reforms, and accelerating the operationalisation of country platforms that can convert national climate plans into bankable project pipelines. With increasing attention on biodiversity, emerging nature-credit mechanisms, digital MRV, and AI-enabled climate intelligence, the 2026 programme highlights the evolving tools reshaping climate investment.

Through sessions exploring Article 6 cooperation, nature and biodiversity finance, climate-resilient infrastructure, water and city systems, industrial decarbonisation, and the role of digitalisation in strengthening trust and transparency, AGES 2026 positions African stakeholders at the forefront of designing investment-ready pathways for a just and nature-positive transition.

Featured Speakers:

• Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director, Climate Policy Initiative • Catherine-Candice Koffman, Regional Director Africa, Green Climate Fund • Dorah Modise, Executive Director, Presidential Climate Commission • Andrew Johnstone, CEO, Climate Fund Managers

• David Obura, Chair, IPBES

• Matsi Modise, Africa Lead, World Climate Foundation

A central feature of AGES 2026, the Investment Pitch and Showcase Programme, returns with a curated pipeline of vetted projects presented directly to investors. These include proposals in renewable energy, battery storage, climate-resilient water systems, mobility electrification, waste-to-value innovation, circularity, climate-smart agriculture and resilience technologies. The 40 projects range from early-stage USD 1 million concepts to industrial-scale ventures exceeding USD 100 million, attracting participation from DFIs, venture-capital firms, commercial banks, blended-finance platforms and corporate climate-investment vehicles.

The Summit will also host technical site visits across Cape Town, demonstrating how climate investments translate into jobs, competitiveness and long-term resilience.

AGES 2026 is anchored by a broad network of continental and global partners. Alongside Sanlam Investments, institutional partners include:

• The Global Green Growth Institute

• Climate Policy Initiative

• Convergence

• Wesgro

• The City of Cape Town

• Regional policymakers, municipal authorities and private-sector sustainability leaders

Their involvement ensures the Summit drives year-round capital mobilisation, not just dialogue.

As global competition for climate finance intensifies, AGES 2026 provides a platform for Africa to articulate its climate-investment agenda with clarity and ambition—grounded in policy frameworks, data and the continent’s vast natural and human capital. With five years remaining in the UN SDG decade of action, the Summit stands as both a milestone and a measure of Africa’s readiness to turn climate ambition into investable, scalable action.

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